Blood Donor Ambassador

American Red Cross Coastal Chapter – Virginia Beach

With this branch of the American Red Cross Coastal Chapter, volunteers would help with the blood donation process. Volunteers could help in a couple different ways, either by helping blood donors make their donation appointments, make sure blood donor paper work is filled out properly, or supporting the donors to create a positive blood donation experience.

The American Red Cross as a whole works to prevents and alleviates human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors. The American Red Cross works to keep a health stock of blood for emergency blood banks. This partner works in the Virginia Beach area to help people donate blood for the Red Cross. If a big emergency or natural disaster struck and a large amount of blood was needed, the Red Cross would be able to restock the depleted blood banks.

I did not really think of how much blood banks would be affected by COVID-19, but when you think about it less people are going out so even less people are going out to donate blood and that leaves blood banks across the country limited on supplies. It really makes me think, because if I was in an accident and ended up needing a blood transfusion would there even be any available, because personally I am O- with is always needed due to being the universal donor, and is usually in lower supply.

My intended career path is Physical Therapy, so I will be helping patients after injuries or accidents regain movement, function, or strength. I suspect I will mostly work with patients that are recovering from accidents and most likely went through surgeries where they were in need of blood, and to have patients on my end, they need to survive their accident and blood can be part of what saves their life. Blood donation can relate to almost all health professions, especially Nursing. Nurses would be involved with the initial steps in the healing process as well as possible the steps in saving a patient’s life in surgery for example, or administering a blood transfusion. Personally I wouldn’t choose nursing as my parallel plan, because my degree is a direct entry and nursing you have to apply for during undergrad, as well as I don’t do that well with having to clean up other’s bodily fluid or waste products like vomit. My parallel plan is basically just single road, because I’m switching my major to Recreational Therapy, so if something comes up and I have to push off going for my doctorate in Physical Therapy I can work in a similar field as a Recreational Therapist.